A trip in time
by SwedishNerd
Summary: “Aw, come on, love. You know you want to !” he smirked, and she had to admit, a part of her was really excited to see what the infamous Marauder had come up with now.


"What are you doing here all alone?" she whispered, no idea as to why but it just felt right. The moment felt sacred, and it was almost as though by speaking in normal volume she'd destroy it. He obviously felt the same as he answered, "thinking" in a whisper. His voice was soft as silk and yet it held an edge to it. She got the feeling he was mad with her for accompanying him, talking to him. Yet, she couldn't stop herself.

"About what?"

The birds were flying in miraculous formations and as a wave on the ocean rolling on shore, as did the birds fly smoothly over the sky. The pink colour of the sky was fading into another, darker one, and it made it all appearing, if possible, all the more beautiful. The Forbidden Forests three tops cast shadows over the birds screen play and it was enchanting, she almost didn't hear his reply.

"How it would feel like to…" his breath hitched and in pretence of watching the birds he tilted his head slightly away from hers, blinking away the fog of a few tears that had found their way into his eyes. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again. She went against all her better judgements and lay down next to him. Wet water from the grass penetrated her clothes and she felt the water on her skin. Grass tickled her neck and bare arms, why on earth had she gone out in the slight rain without a cloak? She already knew the answer, of course. She'd seen him and all her thoughts disappeared, except the instant need to make sure he was alright. Not many people lying about in the rain in only a t-shirt was okay, she'd figured, and before she knew it she was outside the castle gates.

"About what?" she didn't mean to pry, she hadn't really even meant to ask, but the question slid across her pink, cold lips before she could even register it in her brains.

"What it would be like, to be carefree. To sail across the sky, like those birds." He sighed, looking as though he's just confessed his deepest, darkest secret to her. And she guessed this was about as intimidated he'd ever gotten with anyone, on the mental level. Save for maybe his fellow marauders, although she doubted he could even talk to the about this, she'd no idea why but it was just a feeling she got. And from what she'd seen from them until then, she was fairly sure it was accurate. A warm, tingly feeling settled in her stomach when she thought this, and she was grateful he felt he could confide in her.

"No one is ever carefree" she told him quietly, letting some of all of the years of pain, regrets, and losses she'd experienced slip into her voice, silently willing him into understanding that this was her confiding in him. "No one is ever honestly and truly carefree." She whispered again once she found her voice.

"Why do you say that?" his head tilted towards her when he asked that one, desperate question. Stormy grey eyes met chocolate brown and a very inappropriate tingle fluttered in her stomach once again. He held her gaze steadily, eyes frantically searching for some reason as to why she would say that. A black lock of his hair fell into his eyes and he shook it away. "What makes you say that?" Sighing, she wondered how she'd explain to him. Wondered how she could explain to even herself what had possessed her to say something like that at a time when he obviously needed cheering up. Why did she seem to push her down when it was obvious he was already at the bottom?

_The Great Hall was filled with chattering, gossiping, and happy pupils. Well, all except for Hogwarts usual light itself. Sirius Black sat quietly amongst his fellow Marauders, whom, not equally though not as happily as usual, sat with him. All of them, even the bright Remus seemed at a loss of words. Sirius kept staring down at what she knew was a letter, she'd seen it delivered only moments ago. Only moments ago had that carefree, well, as carefree as you could possibly get, smirk on his face gone wiped away by whatever words were scribbled onto that black piece of parchment. Of what she already knew about him, she guessed it was from his family. Most likely, this was when they disowned him, she guessed. Sadly she watched him, his shoulders shrugged away James' hand, and he gave Peter a dark glare when also his hand approached him. Nobody seemed allowed to touch him. And the mood lasted all day. _

_In Transfiguration he simply sat, staring out the window, as did he all other lessons he shared with her, so she assumed that was what he'd done all day, every class. In the hallway on her way to lunch she was only, incidentally, a few steps behind them, and she was shocked senseless when Sirius didn't respond to Severus' taunts. Not even a glare, the always__ present gleam of mischief in his eyes was dead and gone when he looked at Severus. Not glared, not even a stare, not a smirk nor a comeback. A dead look from a dead pair of eyes was all he got. That seemed to unnerve Snape more than anything she'd ever seen the marauders done to him this far. Any glare, stare, prank, joke, humiliation, hex, smirk, anything, she'd seen Snape stand against, but now the poor potions nerd almost seemed frightened half to death. Sirius didn't respond at the comment, but his fellow marauders did however. The look on Lily's face when she found, not James, but her favourite marauder Remus in a wild duel with her former best friend. She had given a new meaning to the expression "fish out of water" for a whole good five minutes before she composed herself. But even in her right senses Lily was at a total loss of what to do. She knew that Lily could never believe poor, sweet and innocent Remus would ever jump to attack Snape unless called for. So, for the first time in her life, Lily just stood watching as her former best friend got his ass kicked by a very vicious Remus. Not even McGonagall had known what to do when she found them, her expression was very much alike that of Lily's, although it lasted nowhere near as long. After a few seconds she said in a stern and disbelieving voice, " and Mr. Snape, this way please."_

_The crowd that had formed somewhere during the duel had scattered away like scared mice at only one look from McGonagall._

"_What are y'all staring at?" James asked annoyingly to the rest of the crowd who remained, they'd all proceeded to stare at either Lily or James, for if there was one thing Hermione had noticed during her time in the Marauder era, it was that Lily and James never went into the same room, or even corridor without it ending up in him asking her out and few seconds later a full blown argument. But James' didn't even let his gaze linger on Lily for that extra second he always did, in fact, he didn't even look at her. Lily and the rest of the crowd walked away. What bothered her most was that besides the Marauders she seemed to be the only one who noticed that Sirius wasn't himself. _

_James threw Hermione a questioningly look once she'd stayed behind. The one eyebrow he'd raised let her know he wondered what the hell she was still doing __there; he hadn't needed the glare as well. But he did glare at her, which made her blood boil, it was a friggin' corridor, if he wanted privacy he'd bloody well have to go get a room. Plus they were blocking the way to the shortcut to the Great Hall. _

"_What?" she decided on playing dumb, but malice still somehow got into her voice. _

"_What are you still doing here?" James asked, and she had to give it to him for his brotherly protectiveness of his friends. But all the while, this wasn't his corridor. _

"_Oh, sorry I didn't know this was your corridor." She said, sarcasm dripping her voice. Peter looked up surprised that anybody, except for Lily, had been rude towards a Marauder. Sirius made no motion or anything whatsoever that could ever be taken as he'd even heard her speak. "Besides," she interrupted James when he opened his mouth, "besides, you're blocking the way." She nodded towards the painting in front of which they all stood. Peters' jaw dropped, how could she know of that shortcut? They'd never seen anyone use it, neither in real life nor on the map. "How do you know of that shortcut?" James asked suspiciously, but she didn't even notice. For the first time, it seemed like; Sirius had finally recognized her speaking and his stormy grey eyes looked into hers. After dinner she'd noticed Sirius disappearing, and she'd mentally scolded herself for noticing all this things about him which she weren't supposed to notice. _

_It was up in the tower, sometime slightly before sunset, James, Remus and Peter __was arguing. Neither of them seemed to have been able to find Sirius. That's when she made her first slipup in months._

"_Use the map." The Marauders jumped at her voice, none seemed to have noticed that she was there. Surprisingly everybody was up in their respective dorms. But it might've had something to do with a dungebomb someone was supposedly have thrown earlier. In Hermione's nose, the common room smelled as usual by now. _

"_Use the what?" James almost spat, he seemed surprised, shocked not to talk about angry. _

"_The Marauders map, of course!" she said as if she talked to a baby. She didn't know how she could've slipped up that badly, but she guessed it was because she simply started to loose knowledge of which era she was in when sleep took over. Which it tended to do quite a lot lately, she couldn't sleep at night because of all the bad dreams that haunted her, and all of the homesickness that came with the darkness. It probably also had something to do with how scarcely alike James and Harry actually were. She knew people used to say that to Harry, but she'd always thought it an exaggeration, but it was in fact as though seeing Harry's hazel-eyed and unscarred twin. _

"_Use the what?!" Remus and James called in surprise, shocked senseless at her words. Peter just stood ogling her. _

"_Uh…" Hermione found herself at a loss of what to say. "I meant, I've gotta go!" She said and ran for the girls dormitory. She was up five stairs before James reached the bottom. He took one step on the staircase and it turned into a slide. Hermione however was prepared, she threw herself onto the first floor and clung to it. _

"_Get down here and tell us how you know about the map!" James bellowed, and she'd expected it to be in a harsh tone, but he was simply bellowing, out of curiousness and perhaps some suspiciousness. Hermione however, had none such plans, and quickly crawled up and sprinted up the next flight of stairs. When she arrived at the dormitory she had to share with the rest of the girls in the Gryffindor 7__th__ year she was completely out of breath and James had stopped bellowing on Remus' request. She went up in the dormitory only to find it empty, she guessed everyone was at dinner and went to relax at the window with a book. That was when she spotted something, or rather, someone. A dot nearby the lake, lying about in the rain. Cloak-less. Somehow she just knew it was Sirius, and she wondered how the hell James and Remus couldn't have found him earlier. Maybe Sirius had the map? Maybe they weren't looking properly since it wasn't that late? She decided to go down to him. And so she did. _

And here she was, for the first time in months actually speaking to someone, with someone, willingly.

"See these birds?" she asked, deciding to stick with the birds which he seemed to like.

"Yes?" he made it a question, stretching the 'e'. She looked him dead in the eyes and tried to will his pain away. It didn't seem to work. "They aren't carefree." She said.

"They aren't carefree?" he simply took her statement and made it a question.

"No" she whispered, sighed and looked up at the birds that appeared so carefree. "How do you know?" he asked, almost accusingly back, "how do you know they don't have their time of the life when they look so carefree?" His eyes pleaded to hers like that of a child's, pleaded her to say they were actually carefree.

"See that bird over there?" she pointed towards a big bird on a small tree in the beginning of the forest. Sirius turned his head over and searched for the bird, and when he spotted it he gave a nod. "That's a falcon. Do you know why these birds have put on this little performance?"

This time Sirius shook his head once he'd turned it back towards her. His black locks were all over the place and she briefly wondered what it would feel like to have her hands entangled in the soft locks. She dismissed the thought quicker than it came. Wrong moment, wrong time. Right guy, though.

"Why do they?" curiosity burned in his eyes when he spoke.

"Survival." She said simply, "That bird over there is a falcon, it eats that kind of bird. I do not remember the name of that bird. They fly together like that to avoid getting caught and eaten by the falcon." Hermione couldn't help but smile at Sirius enchanted face. He looked as a child being told a really entrancing bedtime story. "They fly like that, as if they're sailing the ocean, to confuse the falcon, see" Hermione pointed to the sky where the falcon kept attacking the birds, but it kept failing. Sirius held his gaze at her features, nowhere near perfect, but perfect in his eyes nevertheless. Her wild, brown hair was spread above her head like a sun feather. Her lips were pink and plump, she looked very kissable when she moved her lips to speak.

"They stay together performing like that to stay alive, that's why I cannot think they could ever be carefree, but together they stand strong and they minimize the chance of getting caught, just as they can relax a little more. But one can never get totally carefree." Just as she spoke, the falcon did an unexpected turn and caught an unexpected bird with its beak.

"But it got caught anyways!" Sirius cried disbelievingly, he looked at Hermione as a child might look at someone who'd just been told Santa wasn't real. Sad, crushed, hopeless.

"The circle of life," Hermione sighed sadly, "but look at all the million birds on the sky. What is one as opposed to, say one hundred? It's unfair, I know. But when is life not?"

Hermione said and sighed. Sirius turned his head to all the birds. They were really thousands, at least. Not exaggerating either. The falcon was back at the tree where it had started at first, cheerfully eating its prey. And Sirius knew she was right. The threat of Voldemort kept growing outside the castle walls, but united, they could win. Even if some would die. But that was life. One look into his eyes Hermione decided to screw pretending not to know anything about anyone in this era. She simply had to comfort him, and she wouldn't give a damn if she told him things impossible for her to really know.

"I'm so sorry about your mother." Hermione said and surprised him, not only by knowing things about himself only his best friends knew, but also by taking his hand and squeeze it lightly. "You are not them, however. You'll grow up into a wonderful man, and you'll do great things, I'm certain. It's not who we are that defines us, it's our decisions. What we do, who we chose to be." She said, staring into the grey eyes of Sirius Black.

"Who…How" he cleared his throat when the words didn't seem to want to come out. "How did you know about my mum?" he asked her, his voice was surprisingly normal, but his eyes burned with desire to know. Had his best friends told this unfamiliar witch?

"No, the other Marauders didn't tell me," she said as though she'd just read his mind, "I have my ways of knowing." I know things about you that you don't even know. She added in her head, "but I don't think you're ready for the truth yet. But, your mother is the worst person I've ever met, and you're not her, I just want you to keep that in mind."

"You've met my mum?" Sirius asked, astonished to say the least.

"No, not per se…" Hermione said in a mysterious voice before she let out a little, forced laugh. "Come on, prince Charming. Let's go, or I'll have a cold" She stood up and sunk her hand down to his level. He shot her a curious look but grabbed her hand anyways.

"What do you mean? You're going to meet my mother or what?" He asked her when they reached the castle. Luckily, Hermione was saved by the collision with two Marauders in the doorway.

"Sirius mate, how we've been looking for you! Guess what?" James called out when he grabbed Hermione to steady himself.

"This cute chick, Stacey…" Hermione didn't linger to hear anything about the Stacey girl, as soon as James had let go of her she walked around the corner as fast as she possibly could, and once she rounded it she sprinted towards a shortcut to she common room, ignoring Sirius' calls of "Hermione wait" behind her.

"Hey pretty girl," a familiar voice said and a thud could be heard as Sirius apparently threw himself down in the coach before her.

"Hey there, Prince Charming" she smiled but didn't look up from her book. She felt Sirius' eyes studying her, and this somehow caused a pink flush to appear on her cheeks.

"What cha' doing, princess?" he said, interrupting her reading. The fires sparking and spitting flames warmed the entire room, but Hermione could still feel a thrilling chill fall down her spine when he called her princess, because if she'd just called him prince and he called her princess… No, get a grip. You're over thinking it, as usual. She scolded herself.

"Well, defiantly not reading," she said and frowned, still not tearing her eyes from the book.

"Nope, not anymore you're not." Sirius exclaimed with glee before he suddenly grabbed her book and put it down on the table, after slamming it together so that she wouldn't know which page she left on.

"Oh, no you didn't." Hermione said in her most dangerous voice, which had even made Draco Malfoy shiver back in her days. Sirius only laughed however and tauntingly said in a sing song voice, "Oh, yes I did!"

She took a threateningly step closer to him and drew her wand. The boy didn't seem to learn that you didn't disturb her reading, did he? Or did he enjoy near death experiences? Before she could even begin to do something he snatched her wand and threw her over his shoulder. Hermione gave a surprised and strangled squeal against his shoulder.

"Sirius Black put me down or I'll bite you!" she threatened. He simply laughed.

"Bite me and I'll throw you off of the Astronomy tower," he laughed as he started moving towards the portrait hole. Hermione could feel her hair bouncing on his back and she pinched him, for good measure.

"Ouch! 'Mione!" he called out, stopping right before the entrance to the Gryffindor tower. "Don't destroy this now. Please?"

"Well, since you said please…"

"Really?" a large smile appeared on his lips. Hermione smiled smugly.

"Nope,"

"Aw, come on, love. You know you want to !" he smirked, and she had to admit, a part of her was _really _excited to see what the infamous Marauder had come up with now.

"I don't know about that…" she teased, "and I can perfectly well walk all by myself!" she said and started to try and slide off of his shoulder. Not as easy as it might've appeared. His strong hands held her hips firmly on place, and another of those tingly feelings she so often seemed to get in his presence erupted in her stomach.

"Sirius!"

"But, Mione, it's more fun this way!" he whined and although she couldn't see it, she could almost hear his adorable pout. Despite the whine he still put her down, shooting her a half-hearted glare.

"Now can you come, please?" he pouted, but his eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief.

"No!" Hermione said and tried to run past him, she wasn't quick enough for Sirius Black quidditch player extraordinaire however. He picked her up, once again, as though she weighed no more that a teddy bear, and once again he put her on his shoulder. She squealed in a very un-Hermione-ish sort of way and all the way down to the Hogwarts entrance she tried to squeeze out of his grip. He laughed, and told her to give up several times, while she simply ignored him.

"Here we are," he put her down in front of the master doors and turned his head in her direction, his hands stopping her from escaping. "You ready?" the Marauder-ish glint in his eyes sparkled and suddenly Hermione got worried. Ready for what, exactly?

"Ready? Ready for what?" she asked, suddenly very nervous. His only answer was a mischievous smile and then he opened the doors. A warm hand suddenly grabbed Hermione's and they stepped out in the snow together. No sooner than the doors had closed behind them, a mass of snow hit them and both fell to the ground.

"What in Merlin's most shaggy y-fronts?" Hermione gasped when she resurfaced from beneath the snow. A few meters away James, Remus, Peter and, surprise, surprise, Lily stood laughing.

"Snowball fight!" Sirius exclaimed when he resurfaced next to her. As though it'd been some sort of code word, the air was suddenly filled with snowballs. Oh, screw it, Hermione thought and launched herself into the snowball fight with joy.

Panting she hid behind a tree in the outsides of the Forbidden forest. It was dark this time of the year, but the bright snow had lit up the castle grounds, in the forest, however, there lay no snow. The tree crowns were too thick to let through any snow, and Hermione felt the teensiest bit anxious when she thought of all the creatures hiding in the forest. A sound made her spin around and peer in between two extra thick bushes, almost believing she could see a pair of eyes peering back. But they were gone before she had had time to even blink. Even though she was scared, she still went to check and in looking behind the bushes she discovered a pair of prints, very dog-like. The voices of James and Lily suddenly reached her.

"I swear James, I saw her go in here," Lily giggled. Hermione quickly went too hide behind a tree, both Sirius and Remus had gotten some pretty good hits at her before and she didn't feel like getting any wetter.

"We'll find her," she heard James' reply, his voice for some strange reason husky. Not able to help herself, Hermione peaked out from behind her tree to look at the couple who'd just came into view. James, not Lily, had his back against a tree, with Lily slowly closing in, just about to kiss him. Or snog him senseless, perhaps? She now understood why James' voice were husky, he was just about to kiss his Dream girl, who wouldn't get a little turned on by that? Hermione almost sighed to herself. It looked romantic, if you looked past the part where James almost looked as if he thought Lily was about to rape him.

"Oh, spying on the happy couple, are we?" Sirius voice came as such a surprise she'd have screamed out loud and probably destroyed Lily and James' moment had Sirius not put his hand over her mouth.

"Sirius, you scared me!" she exclaimed.

"No shit, I thought you'd jump to the moon and back," he snorted, but smiled as well. His eyes were sparkling in the dim light of the forest. Then Hermione couldn't help herself, so she sneezed. Loud. In the corner of her eye she noticed James and Lily jumping apart, before Sirius pulled her back behind the tree.

"Haha, way to go, 'Mione!" he laughed.

"I didn't mean to! What if I've destroyed their future relationship?" she said anxiously, making Sirius laugh all the more. "I don't think that they're to not get together just because you sneezed while they kissed," he rolled his eyes at her and she felt like doing the same thing. Why had she said such a stupid thing? It was something about Sirius' presence and the whole situation that made her very nervous. Maybe she'd just noticed exactly how close together she and Sirius stood. Only inches apart, she could smell him, only him natural, no cologne or anything. He smelled very sweet and tempting. His body almost pressed against hers when he tried to hide from view behind the tree.

"Come on James, we can finish this somewhere else." They suddenly heard Lily's voice.

"What if I want to finish it here?" asked James, and Hermione could see his flirting look when closing her eyes. She'd seen it too many times when she'd been near when James tried to flirt with Lily before.

"Come on James," said Lily while grabbing his hand and pulling him away from their hiding place.

"haha, I don't think Jam-" Hermione had turned back towards Sirius, and she almost melted beneath his gaze. He stared at her intensely, breathing heavily, making her draw a ragged breath. "-es would have liked that…" she breathed and stared into his eyes.

Suddenly his mouth crashed onto hers and all other thoughts disappeared. She forgot he was 21 years older than her, her best friends godfather on that. All she knew was she was kissing Sirius Black, and she never wanted to stop. His hands were all over her back and in her hair, and she allowed herself to explore his abs whilst exploring his mouth. With a gasp he broke for air.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have, I should've…" he panted and she looked at him incredulously. Did he regret it? Nah, he started it, and Sirius Black would never regret a good snog, would he?

She tilted her head upwards and pressed her lips against his in a, not as passionately but all the more sweet second kiss. His mouth exploring hers in a slower, tenderer way than the first time. Inevitably things heated up after a while, there's only so much you can do. He planted kisses down her neck and she thanked god for the heating-charm he'd placed on them after the snow-fight had begun. It allowed them to still only wear the little indoor clothes they'd been wearing all day which suddenly felt like many layers too much clothes. Her head tilted backwards and she moaned when he nibbled at her earlobe. A moan escaped his mouth as well and he pressed his body against hers, his hands held her body closely, almost trying to press her closer although there was no more space between them to fill. She had no idea how long they stayed there, but after what only felt like ten minutes calls filled the forest. Remus' call could be heard the loudest.

"Hermione, Sirius?"

Hermione and Sirius stood panting, and facing each other for a few seconds before Sirius called back huskily, "Over here!" and walked out from behind the tree. Remus stood on a path not ten meters away. "Okay, guys I've found them!" he called over his shoulder and not too soon James, Lily and Peter came into view. Hermione did not know if she should stay behind the tree or walk into view. She did not know if Sirius wanted to keep it a secret or if he wanted to keep it a secret. Remus made the choice easy however.

"Hermione step out from behind, I know you're there." He said a smirk obvious in his voice. So she stepped out into view, with a blush gracing her features. Sirius did not blush, she'd have been mighty surprised if he had, he only smiled with a marauder-ish glimmer in his eyes.

"Remus, my friend, you are way too perceptive. How did you know?" he smirked.

"You said "we're here" not "I'm here", stupid dog." Remus smiled brotherly at Sirius who smiled back.

"Let's go get some dinner." Peter exclaimed, his stomach grumbling hungrily.

"Always hungry, are you not?" Lily asked him fondly and he smiled sheepishly back at her.

"Well, I'm starving too." James stated.

"You would be, would you not?" Sirius asked him knowingly, his smirk only growing bigger by each second. Hermione was sure he'd die smirking.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Said James really convincingly, but a glance at Lily and a faint blush at his cheeks told them differently.

"Sure, sure prongs."

"You know, someday you're going to have to tell me what those nicknames means," said Lily determinedly, turning to go get some food. The tension between the rest of them was touchable. Sirius glanced at Hermione nervously, expecting her to demand some explanation as well. She only gave him a mysterious smile and followed Lily.

"What did that mean?" asked Remus referring to Hermione's smile to Sirius. James looked intensely at Sirius, demanding an answer from his brother in all but blood with just his eyes.

"I have no idea, man." Sirius said, looking at Hermione's retreating back with a lovey-dovey stare, before he ran to catch up with her. James, Peter and Remus did the same as well, and soon the group was reunited. Remus and Peter talked about the transfiguration homework, Lily and James had a conversation in low voices, but Hermione and Sirius, walking right behind, heard every word.

"How the hell could they know?" Lily asked James.

"I've no idea? But you said you saw Hermione enter the forest," whispered James back.

"I only said that to get some one on one time with you, stupid!" Lily said with a fond smile.

"Does it even matter if they saw us?" he asked her.

"I guess not…" said Lily grumpily after a minute or so. Then they switched to talk about the upcoming Yule ball. Sirius took Hermione's hand and gave it a squeeze. He did not let go until they sat in the kitchen, munching on chicken and other delicious meals. And afterwards, on their way to the common room he grabbed it once again, and did not let go until later that night, after they'd sat talking in the common room, when she went to bed.

"Hello Miss. Granger." Headmaster Dumbledore smiled down at her from behind his half-moon spectacles. "I'm sure you know why I have summoned you?"

She was, almost. But she'd been sure she knew Dumbledore's agendas in the future, but she'd been wrong, it had led her to one conclusion; you never knew with Dumbledore.

"I, I'm not sure, sir." She said, causing Dumbledore to chuckle lightly.

"I have, found a way for you to get back to your own time. That is, if you still want to get back? Was that not what you thought I'd say?" He looked piercingly at her. She got the feeling he knew what had happened between Sirius and her. Well, she'd actually be surprised if he didn't, who knew Hogwarts pupils liked to gossip that much? But it was scary sometimes, how Dumbledore seemed to know so much. Like when she'd first gotten here. She remembered it very well.

"_Ron don't!" she yelled at Ron when he'd played with her enchanted hour-glass, but it'd been too late. A swooping sensation had erupted in her stomach and then everything went black. The shadows pressed against her and she felt smothered. Only able to take slow, heavy breaths she quickly got dizzy. Curse that stupid twit Ronald Weasley to hell! Had he not learned anything from playing with her stuffs before? This reminded her strongly of one time when he'd accidentally sent both him and her back in time, but it was with a regular time-turner that time, and they'd only gone back two hours. But her enchanted hour-glass was something different entirely, it allowed one to go even further back in time than a regular time-turner ever could. Why had he had to play with it? She only hoped he'd not sent her back 'til the medieval times, she'd kill him then. And the hour-glass had been a gift from Sirius this Christmas. Getting back from the veil had really made him determined to live life to its fullest. And now he didn't consider living life to its fullest shagging random blondes, but surround himself with loved ones. Having Harry living with him he liked so much, and it didn't take long until he invited Hermione and Ron__ to come live with them as well. Hermione had gladly accepted the offer, not liking to live alone very much. Her parents hadn't survived in Australia, a regular car crash had killed them only weeks before Hermione had come to get them. Ron, being fed up with Mrs. Weasley's constant nagging, said yes after only a few days thinking it over. One day, while enjoying herself in Sirius' library she discovered a book containing information about the enchanted hour-glass. She'd never heard anything of something like that ever before, but in discovering that it was legal, though unusual magic she quickly began searching for where she could get one. Discovering that she could buy one from a seller in Germany, she looked up the price, and almost fainted when she laid eyes on it. It was way out of her price limit, but what had she really expected?_

_Sirius had somehow noticed her research on enchanted hour-glasses and in a Christmas gift he'd given her one. _

"_Sirius you really shouldn't have! I know the price of this, this is expensive even with your fortune!" she'd scolded, but soon learnt that he hadn't bought it at all. _

"_It was mine already. I have no use for it, but I'm sure you can use your brain to come up with some use for it to yourself." Sirius had smiled at her and before he knew it she'd thrown herself into his arms. _

"_Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" she rushed and hugged him tightly, noticing his smell, natural with no cologne or anything. He smelled sweet and tempting even in the future. _

_As the air came back to her she had one conclusion, she wished she'd never read anything about some stupid hour-glasses! _

"_If I ever get back I'm going to curse that sodding twat Ronald Weasley to hell and then back just so I can curse him back again! Stupid, stupid, STUPID MORIN! Fuck, I'm not going to be stuck in the past, especially not when that GIT is the reason I'm here! Where is here anyway? Oh great, talking to myself, I knew that stupid mongrel would drive me crazy one day! I _knew_ it!" She looked around the room, trying to figure out where she was. It looked noticeably like the headmasters office in Hogwarts. _

"_Hogwarts? Well, this is not that bad!" she mumbled to herself. Hoping against all odds that the hour-glass hadn't worked after all. _

"_I shall hope not." Of course, with her luck, the hour-glass would work. She knew it. Professor Dumbledore was the one who'd greeted her and he looked incredibly younger. His hair and beard was not as long or as silver as it was in her time. "A time-traveler, I assume?" well, at least now she knew that the piercing look of Dumbledore had always been there, or at least it had been there for a long time. What time was she in?_

"_What time are you from Miss…" he begun, politely asking for her name. _

"_Uh," Hermione said, lost in thought. "Granger, Hermione Granger, sir. And you're Professor Dumbledore, are you not? I've never seen you this young!" she exclaimed, not entirely checking the words before they left her mouth. She clasped a hand over her mouth in surprise as she spoke the last part. "I'm so sorry sir, I did not mean to say that I" Dumbledore silenced her with his hand._

"_I'm quite sure you did not Miss. Granger, but we do have a problem at hand right now. We must find a way to get you home." He looked pensive. "You posses a hour-glass I assume from your behavior previously?" Hermione blushed when the headmaster reminded her of her foul mouth. _

"_Yes, sir. I posses__s an hour-glass. Never used, though, it was my friend who toyed with it. Sadly this isn't the first time he's gotten me into a big mess, but this one takes the price. I am from the year 2001 (AN _I'm just guessing at the year, Hermione's 20 in this story, but I have no idea what year each Harry Potter book is outplayed in) _where am I?"_

"_Merlin, you have traveled quite far my friend,__ indeed you have. You are in 1978, and may I ask, without being rude, of your age? You look a tad bit too old for a 7__th__ grader." Dumbledore asked and put his face in his hands, studying her. _

"_I have recently celebrated my 20__th__ birthday, sir." _

"_Hm, well, I see no other option than to put you in one of the houses and then you'll join the 7__th__ year classes until we know how to get you home, what house where you in, or rather what house will you be in, so that I know where to place you now?" he asked. _

"_I was a Gryffindor sir." Hermione said, pride sipping into her voice. _

"_Then you shall live with the 7__th__ year Gryffindor girls then, shall we?" he rose and gestured towards the door. _

"_Oh, sir, I find my way perfectly well, there's no need to follow me." Hermione said quickly._

"_I were planning on accompanying you to the Gryffindor common room and informing you about the password being _niffles_, since I'll have to go and inform the other teachers about your arrival anyways, now, shall we?" he asked once again, eyes sparkling. _

"_of course, sir."_

"Yes sir, that was what I thought you'd say." Hermione replied.

"Well then, you _do _want to go back, do you?" he asked, letting his gaze pierce her, looking for an answer. And as lovely as young Sirius was, she couldn't get past the odd feeling of being older than him, when she was so used to him being older than her. And she missed her, Harry and Ron's crazy nights out, and their less crazy nights at home with Sirius. The less crazy nights had gotten more often than the nights out since they found that they liked to spend time with Sirius more than they enjoyed being out and about. Well, if Sirius was out and about with them, it was crazy fun, but Hermione had found herself being surrounded by people and still feeling lonely without him. Or not so much lonely, rather, incomplete, but Sirius didn't often follow them out, he was still getting used to not being wanted, but had still gotten talked into leaving the house by Hermione more often lately.

She missed scolding Ron for playing with magical stuff that should not be played with, such as the hour-glass, her time-turner, she also had had a time when she had to go around with orange hair for two days until Sirius came back, he was apparently the only one who could fix it. Ron had been fiddling with some Weasley's wizarding wheezes and accidentally turned Hermione's hair orange, after trying every spell she knew she gave up, but Sirius, being a marauder knew exactly what to do. She missed how Kreatcher had almost completely warmed up to her and how he and Sirius got along really well. She missed the Black's library, the whole Grimauld house which Sirius actually got used to living in after they'd taken away all the things containing dark magic and thrown away the hideous picture of his mother, the whole house was different now. They'd repainted it and it looked much nicer. She wanted to go home.

"Yes sir, I do want to go home." Hermione said.

"Well then, if you would just go and grab your things and say your goodbyes and we'll send you back." She looked at the midnight blue robes of her future ex. Headmaster and pondered whether to ask him or not. She decided to, it wasn't as though she'd meet him in the future now, was it?

"Sir, may I ask you a question?" Dumbledore chuckled. "I believe you already have, but I'm going to let that slip, ask on child." He smiled at her and his gaze told her he already had a hum of what she would ask. She felt like an awkward teenager once again when she tried to force the question out of her mouth.

"Do you know about, about Sirius and, Sirius and I?" she asked awkwardly. One might've thought she actually was twelve and not twenty.

"I'm afraid yes," he answered.

"Well, I was just thinking…I just…" she paused.

"You're thinking on whether to tell him or not." Dumbledore stated, not asked. "Yes."

He nodded and pondered. "Well, time is a most delicate thing and I must say you have already messed with it more than would ever be recommended, I think. But then, the situation regarding Mr. Black and yourself is unique, I'll have to tell you to follow your heart, my dear." He sighed, "all my hopes are with you, and I most certainly wish that the situation was different for Mr. Black and you. However, it is not, so we must make the best of it."

"I was thinking..." Hermione began to form another question, "about the goodbyes. Are they necessary, and if that would be the case, whatever shall I tell them?" She sighed as well.

"That, Miss. Granger, I think you would know better than me. But if it was the other way around, how would you have wanted it?" it was clearly a rhetorical question because Dumbledore opened his office door for her in a clear dismissal. "Come back when you've done what you shall. You'll make the right decision." He smiled encouragingly before shutting the door in her face.

While packing her very few belongings she pondered on the goodbye question. Would Sirius be sad if she just left? She hoped not and yes at the same time. But if he left her without an explanation…she didn't even want to think of it. Guess there is only one thing to do, she thought while slamming her bag shut.

"Sirius, I have to go…no, no, and no. Sirius, I don't know how to explain, but I cannot stay here, I don't belong here, and I think you know that too…no too cheesy. Sirius I have to go…ah, just kill me!" Hermione paced back and forward in the back of the library, hiding from everything and everybody until she had her goodbyes ready. "Sirius I'm from the future, and now I have to go back. But don't worry, when you're 41 and I'm 20 you, me, your godson, who just happens to be my best friend and our best friend will be living with each other…okay, this is clearly not working!" she said to herself angrily and sat down at a table in frustration. It just looked like she'd have to go without saying goodbye, which was probably just as well because she had no idea if she could do it, even if she could say the most perfect words.

"Are you ready?" professor Dumbledore asked her when she was back at his office half an hour later.

"Yes, sir" she replied.

"Good, now you'll get a little sleepy, but don't worry. When you wake up you'll be back, only hours after when you came here," Dumbledore told her and started pouring a potion into a cup.

"I trust you, professor," Hermione smiled. "I feel honored," Dumbledore said and handed her the potion, "this is for the queasiness." She gulped down the foul potion in two gulps. "Thank you, professor."

"Anytime, now, I'll turn this reverse-glass three and three quarters a time and then you'll slowly fall asleep, and, as previously said, you'll wake up in your own time, are you ready?" she nodded in reply and watched as Dumbledore turned the reverse hour-glass one time…and again, then again, and then he let the sand run down three quarters of what was in there. Suddenly Hermione felt tired, really, really tired. Sleep pulled at her eye-lids and she started panicking. Where was that parchment, she could not, _would not _forget it. Ah there it was, she felt it in her pocket, just as she drifted off to sleep.

Dumbledore watched the girl from the future slowly and reluctantly for some reason, fall asleep. As she'd fallen asleep she breathed slowly a few times, before she started to fade before him, and before he knew it she was gone.

In her seat a letter, a piece of parchment lay, folded in two it only held two words on the front. _Sirius Black. _

Sirius watched as Harry and Ron ran around in panic, screaming something surreal about Hermione being thrown back in time by the enchanted hour-glass. Their voices were faded from where he stood in the doorway to the library. Harry and Ron ran around the library like headless chickens, he wished they'd stop scream because it only ceased his headache. He'd just had the most surreal experience in his 41 year old life as a wizard. He didn't even remember the whole veil thing being this surreal, since he actually didn't remember anything from the veil, it was all black to him, and he'd come out exactly the same as he came in, so they usually joked about Sirius being only sixteen years older than them. Maybe that was so also, because he did certainly not feel like he was 41. But he was, at least on the papers. But that wasn't what was so surreal; no it was the sudden memory of a certain brunette, bookish girl whom he'd kissed at a time when she wasn't even supposed to exist. But he had a very, very livid mind you, image of the two of them kissing in the forbidden forest in his 7th year. He'd been laying in bed, when suddenly the memory came to him, he had remembered that moment before, only different. Another girl, one which he did not like very much mind you, and they had, just like he and Hermione, spotted James and Lily kissing. He had not kissed that girl however, when James and Lily broke apart he'd run up to them and congratulated them on "finally getting together" just as Remus and Peter arrived. The other girl stood forgotten next to the tree, something Sirius never had regretted, she was never even a nice person. Besides, bros before hoes, right? And his brother, in all but blood, had just caught the girl of his dreams, what was he to do? But now, it was a different memory, and the memory of the other girl was fading. At least he knew Hermione was okay. But he had no idea if he would ever see her again. How would she get back? _Would _she even get back?

"We cannot go to her because we don't have an hour-glass!" Harry yelled at Ron for what felt like the fiftieth time. "And besides that, we don't know what time she's in! What good would it do her if we went back to the medieval times while she was in the Stone Age?"

"I couldn't have sent her back to the Stone Age, that would take too many turns!" argued Ron.

"How would you have known?" asked Harry, "have you done any research on hour-glasses?" he asked skeptically.

"No." Ron hung his head shamefully. "But what shall we do then?"

"I've no idea" said Harry sadly. "I don't think there is anything we can do…"

"We will eat," Sirius spoke up for the first time, "get some nourish so that we will be able to think clearly. Then hopefully we'll know what to do." Harry and Ron looked at him as though they couldn't believe that he'd just proposed they eat while their best friend was stuck in the past. Sirius didn't pause to look at their reactions, but proceeded to the kitchen to make some lunch.

"So what will we do?" Ron asked the same question he'd asked all day after lunch, when they all lay full in the library, lazily flipping through different pages from different books.

"I have no idea." Harry said, closed his book and picked up another one from the insanely large pile next to him. At least twenty books with a possible solution in them lay next to him, that pile was unread, next to him lay a pile of ten books which he'd already flipped through. Ron and Sirius had the same amount of unread books and read ones as Harry. None had found anything.

"Oh, HERE!" Ron called out, but sighed, "no, sorry, my mistake." It had already happened a few times, not only to Ron but Harry and Sirius as well, and everybody had learnt not to react whenever somebody thought they'd found something. This passed on a few hours, until they all felt as though their eyes would pop out and the words started to fuzz before their eyes.

"Guys, I love Hermione and all, but I propose we take a break, the words are doubling up before my eyes," Harry said a while before dinnertime. It was agreed to by murmurs from Sirius who lay with his head in a book and a snore by Ron who'd fallen asleep with a book covering his face. "I'll take that as a yes." Said Harry and deciding on a snack from the kitchen started getting up.

"Hello Kreatcher," he greeted Kreatcher when he spotted him washing in the kitchen.

"Hello master," Kreatcher greeted him back. When Sirius first had come back Kreatcher had had such a hard time knowing who to call master that he just started banging his head on first thing possible whenever he was supposed to say master to either Sirius or Harry, that until Harry and Sirius clarified that they were both masters. "Can Kreatcher gets you something master?" Kreatcher asked and bowed until his nose almost touched the floor. Some habits he seemed unable to get rid of.

"No thanks, I'm just getting something to munch on, don't bother," Harry said nicely.

"Please sir, Kreatcher can do that for sir!" he sounded so eager Harry could not not let him do it.

"Alright then, what do we have?" together with Kreatcher Harry fixed a tray full of heavier snacks and brought it into the library to wake up Ron and Sirius who'd also fallen asleep. When Harry woke them they ate and then proceeded to look through the books, sometime before dinner they were all asleep. And that's how Hermione found them when she got back.

Touched at how much time they obviously had put down on trying to find a way to bring her back she went around to kiss each of them on the forehead. When she got to Sirius a tingling sensation erupted in her stomach. Her lips lingered on his forehead seconds longer than on Harry and Ron's. Yawning, she decided to climb the stairs and go to bed for a while. But a hand grabbed her wrist when she tried to walk away.

"Not so fast missy," Sirius mumbled into his book. He looked up at her, not knowing if he should be happy she was back or angry she'd kissed him when he did not know who she was. She must've seen it in his eyes for he could notice how she got insecure.

"I kissed Ron and Harry too, it was just a thank you, I mean, I can see you've clearly made an effort to try and get me back…" Hermione started excusing herself and Sirius found himself almost…sad, she would say that. But why would she kiss only him, he was probably just an old man to her.

"No, 's not about that." He said sleepily. "But wha' where ye thinking kissing me like that and then leaving me without a goodbye?" he said, and as he started to wake up, he got more angry. The sudden memories of the years he'd spent looking for her. Hermione hung her head in shame. "I did leave a note" she said shamefully, blushing.

"A note which said, "Sorry Sirius I don't know how to explain this. I had to go, but we will see each other again", you think that was enough?" he asked skeptically, rising up. His chest heaved heavily and he looked at her intensely. "Do you?" he asked a bit nicer.

"I'm so sorry; I had no idea what to do or what to say. You must forgive me; I simply didn't want to hurt you!" Hermione breathed, taking a step closer to him. "Please."

"Of course I forgive you; I just don't see how you thought." He sighed. "You should probably tell Harry and Ron you're back…"

"But I don't want to." she sighed, whining.

"Why?"

"Because then I can't do this…" she closed her eyes and leaned in, letting her lips crash onto his, didn't know what she'd expected, maybe he would react as passionately as in his past. Or maybe it would've been sweeter, slower, but she hadn't expected him to pull away looking, well, looking almost grossed.

"What is it?" she asked shy from the rejection. "Am I really that repulsive?" he cringed, she'd hit the right spot, had she not?

"No, you are the most attractive person I've ever met, but I am double your age, you can't possibly want this." Hermione nodded her head violently.

"But I do, I want it so much it hurts," her big chocolate eyes connected with his and he had a hard time stopping himself from grabbing her and taking her right then and there.

"No, you want me from the past, not this. This is old, this is used." He gestured towards himself.

"No, if I had wanted you from the past I'd have stayed there. I want this, I want you now. And I doubt you weren't used even back then," He smiled sheepishly.

"Okay, but less used than this. I've been dead, or something near it, I've been to jail, I don't deserve you. This shouldn't happen…" he stopped when Hermione once again forced her lips onto his. He was on the edge of responding when logic got the better of him, who ever knew he possessed such Remus-ish reactions?

"Hermione I cannot…" Hermione ran her hands up and down his stomach and he moaned, cursing mentally. "Who am I kidding?" he asked before tilting her head up towards him and capturing her mouth with his. The kiss was everything, it was passionate and sweet, it was fire and it was ice, it was exploring and reuniting. Hands were everywhere, entangled in hair, holding onto shirts pressing each other towards each other, beneath shirts feeling each other. Absentmindedly they began to make their way towards the stairs, lips still locked together. The way up the stairs never seemed so long, they stumbled and kissed all the way up, halfway up the stairs Hermione began pulling at Sirius' shirt which was thrown off in a jiffy. Hungrily she ran her hands over his bare chest and he chuckled lightly.

"Liking what you see, love?" she looked up mischievously at him and began planting soft, teasing kisses all over his chest. He flipped his head back and moaned. She stood up and began unbuttoning the buttons of her blouse, slowly, teasingly. He ate her with his eyes for a moment but then he knocked her hands away, unbuttoning the shirt himself.

"You too slow, love." He whispered huskily in her ear, sending shivers down her spine while tracing two hands down her back before letting them settle on her butt, pushing her closer to him. She could feel his erection pressed against her abdomen. His hands searched for her breast and she pushed herself closer to him, giving all of her to him. He started to work her breasts, slowly, teasingly, getting back at her for taking of her shirt so slowly. Slowly he began leading her backwards up the stairs, and at the first stairway he stopped, continuing to work her breast with his tongue. Moaning her hands began searching for his pants. He felt it and laid his hands on top of hers, leading hers towards his pants. His pant was off even quicker than his shirt, somehow, and he continued to slowly pull her pants down. When they were completely off he began planting kisses on her calf, and up her inner thigh.

Harry and Ron woke up to the sound of jokes and laughter and the smell of eggs and bacon. Head spinning, Harry sat up. Hermione's laughter seemed so surreal, when had she come home? Was it just a dream? Maybe Sirius had finally decided to bring a girl home and this girl sounded remarkably like Hermione, because, Hermione would've waked them up to tell them she was okay, wouldn't she? At least she would've woken up Ron to yell at him.

Rubbing his eyes Harry decided to listen to his hungry stomach and visit the kitchen. Upon entering it he found the most out-of-place sight. Hermione stood by the stove, apparently doing the cooking, and Sirius stood behind her, seemingly hugging her from behind. Both were wearing their pajamas and looked as though they'd just gotten out of bed. Sirius planted a kiss on Hermione's neck and she squirmed and laughed at something he whispered in her ear.

When turning around to ruffle Sirius' already ruffled hair she noticed Harry in the doorway. He had his eyes on the scene before him, Hermione standing in his godfather's arms, smiling, apparently enjoying it. Sleep held him from reacting fully to the situation.

Sirius felt Hermione tense up in his arms and noticed her laugh die out and followed her look to spot Harry in the doorway that had just been joined by Ron.

"Harry, this isn't, it's not, this isn't what it looks… ah who am I kidding? This is exactly what it looks like!" Hermione said nervously inching closer to Sirius, fearing Harry's reaction. Ron's as well, though mostly Harry's.

Sirius had one hand on her back and comforted her by stroking his thumb up and down.

"Well, this was a pleasant surprise…" Harry finally said and went over to the kitchen table which was loaded with bread, butter, jam and other breakfast related food. Hermione watched as he buttered a toast, obviously surprised at his reaction.

"Indeed," Ron agreed and followed Harry's lead. "The sexual tension has been killing me." He sighed happily as he bit into his toast.

"Sexual tension? Since when have we had any sexual tension?" Hermione asked bewildered.

"Since, well, forever?" Harry said, "All the times in the library whenever you and Sirius would sit and "talk""

"Oh yes!" Ron agreed. "You had to watch out not to get hit by the sparks, man, you had some intense chemistry!"

"Well, Ginny will be pleased." Harry said and frowned. "I'll have to owl her. Or visit her this afternoon." He checked his watch. "She can't possibly be up now, anyways…"

"Oh right, did you and Ginny found an apartment yet?"

"Yes we did, in fact, we were going to tell you very soon." Harry said proudly. "We'll be moving in a little less than two months."

"Oh, congrats!" Hermione said and threw herself at him. "Yeah, mate, that's fantastic!" Ron agreed and gave him a "man-hug".

"You'll be moving about the same time as me and Luna will then." Ron said and watched in bemusement how his friends at first didn't fully comprehend what he'd just said.

"Wait, you're moving in with Luna?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Aw, Ron, that's so funny, congratulations! We should celebrate this, you know?" Hermione said happily. "How about we dine out?" Sirius suggested and everybody agreed. While Ron and Harry started talking about when and where exactly, they would move, Sirius pulled in Hermione in an embrace.

"We'll have this whole, huge house for ourselves in no-time," he whispered in her ear, making her long for her friends to move in a way she'd never thought she'd long for her best friends to move away from her.

_I got the idea from Discovery channel, they did a show about the birds in the beginning of the story, and the rest just sort of came out as well. I never meant for it to be this long, after all, it's a one shot. But I've written, in just a week, half of what took me three mon__ths to write, and this is so much better. I'm so proud. ;)_

_Anyways, that's what I think, what did you think?_

_Any faults in the English you'd like to correct? _

_Lots of love!_


End file.
